The clock on the giant Wembley screen ticked over to the 55th minute.
Manchester City 0 - 1 Manchester United
To the casual observer, City was dominating. They had 72% possession. They had completed 400 passes to United's 120. They were suffocating the game, squeezing the life out of the pitch like a boa constrictor.
But from the bench, Rio Lance saw the truth.
They weren't squeezing. They were choking.
"It's too slow," Rio muttered, chewing his fingernail. "Fuck, it's so slow."
Jack Grealish, sitting next to him with a towel over his head, sighed. "It's the Ten Hag trap, lad. They sit deep, they let us pass sideways, and they wait for Rodri to fall asleep. It's boring, but it works."
On the pitch, Bernardo Silva received the ball on the right wing. Luke Shaw stepped out to meet him. Bernardo, brilliant as he was, didn't have the pace to burn him. He checked back. He passed to Walker. Walker passed to Stones.
The United fans cheered ironically. "Ole!"
